a relaxing work trip

the view from the deck of the condo we are staying at in keystone.  no kids, some work, but today a relaxing book on the quiet patio.  i always have loved a waterfront view.

come along with us on our reading journey

our new favorite book these days.  curious george goes fishing.  brady's imagination is running wild now. he acts out a lot of his books and movies.  yesterday we were on the back porch and the adventure began.  brady was looking for cake to put onto his fishing pole.  i asked where he was going fishing and he said, "right here mommy." (in his trash truck)

his fishing pole was the broom his lake was in the top of the truck and when his piece of cake fell off of his pole he opened up the back of the truck and said, "here it is."  this is why i read to the boys so they can imagine and dream up their own little adventures.  it is so fun to watch.  what are some of your kiddos favorite books?

quiet day at home

september to me has always been an in between month.  too warm to be fall and the chillier nights make it not quite summer.  today we were home bound as mommy was sick and we did not want to expose papa and great grammy to germs.  so we did some laundry and walked all the way to the park and back pushing our tonka truck and pooh bus.  (that was a long walk for little legs.)  we came home and enjoyed the hose and squirt guns for probably one of the last times this year.

we sat on our back porch and ate hot dogs together and fresh pasta salad with the last of the cherry tomatoes out of our garden and a little fresh basil from our not so little basil plant.  we have been so busy running to school, going to play dates and birthday parties that i have forgotten what it was like to hang at home and enjoy a quiet day with the boys.  they are growing up so fast right in front of me.  as parents we get so busy in the going and doing we forget to slow down and listen to the pitter patter of feet, the giggles and the soft (or not so soft) voices of our little ones.  i am so happy that i had the opportunity to do that today.  i hope you all have a wonderful friday and a quiet weekend to enjoy those around you.

the boy who changed the world by andy andrews

this fantastic book is about a boy who plays in cornfields in iowa.  his name is norman borlaug.  he has an idea that he would like to feed the hungry.  he however needs the help of other people by the name henry wallace who was influenced by the inventor george washington carver, who was rescued by the farmer moses carver.  these three lives are intertwined together by decisions that each person made in their life.  andrews depicts well how each decision you make can affect thousands of people and truly can change the world. (the butterfly effect.)

this book is beautifully illustrated by philip hurst.  the pictures bring the story to life for young minds.

i was lucky enough to see andy andrews speak in person.  i am even luckier that my husband through work events is on his mailing list.  we were blessed to receive a copy of this in the mail from andy. (thank you andy.)  we have been reading it to brady and logan every night.  while it is over logans head at this time brady is starting to catch on.  when he does things through out the day good or bad we now remind him that it can affect others around him. Every decision and action he makes influences the lives of others.

this book is a child's version of andy andrews book the butterfly effect.  i have read it a couple of times and absolutely love how he has adapted the same principles into a book that my kids can understand.  if you have never picked up a book of his you are missing out and i highly encourage you to visit his site and pick one up!  andy has changed the smith family in so many ways and we are so grateful for your amazing ability to write and send powerful messages through a story.

boys room remodel

photos courtesy of pottery barn kids

photo courtesy of pottery barn kids

above is a little inspiration that started a boys room remodel.  we merged these two rooms together to come up with a version that works for us.  we absolutely loved the bead board on the wall and i loved the powder blue color of the other room.  we will be painting the boys furniture dark blue.  i am thinking some red accents, maybe a striped quilt?

below is the boys room after the paint job and wanes coating.

 

more later when the project is done!

seed sorting

we were lucky enough to be given all of these seeds.  an entire grocery sack full of them.  i know we have no way to plant all of them. i certainly do not want them to go to waste.  i have emailed all of my close friends and now am opening it up to anyone who reads my blog.  if you would like some free seeds for your home garden leave a comment below or email me.  i will send you a list and you can let me know what you would like.  anything else we have left over will be donated to the community garden at my sons school.  happy planting!

redecorating - lanterns

photo courtesy of pottery barn online

i have had my eye on these lanterns for sometime now.  however i could not bring myself to pay $99 for the large one and $39 for the smaller ones.  on a recent shopping trip to my local tj maxx i saw a large lantern sitting on a top shelf.  next to it a couple of little ones. so i bought them and then headed off to hobby lobby to get my fillers.  here is my take on the potter barn lantern. the good news is for the filler stuff and all the lanterns i spent a lot less than what it would have cost me to buy the large lantern at pottery barn.  i love good finds!  these are also very versitale.  i can change the fillers out for the seasons and for the holidays and not have to change everything, very cost effective decorating.

so here we are a space in my home that i have struggled with decorating since we moved in. always putting decorating vases on it and typically stuff that truly was too large and looked cluttered.

the flag i found in my grandma betty's basement.  it is a 48 star flag.  i need to get a shadow box for it still.

what do you think of this space, those of you that have seen it before with all the clutter will marvel in it's new clean look.  have a great tuesday.  i hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!

latest decorating score

i have wanted this couch for a while now, however would not pay the price tag new.  i could not believe it.  last sunday afternoon i was surfing craigs list and there was a listing for a pottery barn couch for $100.  i thought for sure it was a joke or the thing was in horrible condition.  i looked at the picture and thought it wasn't so bad.  i called the lady, she still had it, i could not believe that either.  all the way down to pick it up i kept saying to brian it is not going to be the real deal, but when we got there it was.  i bought it, brought it home pulled all of the canvas slip covers off and washed them.  here we are a pottery barn couch in my home for $100.  the slip covers have a couple little stains that did not come out, but that is okay.  after the boys grow up a little more i will spring for the $500 replacement slip cover.  i still am only in to a $1200 couch for $600.  awesome.  love craigs list and love my front room even more now.  the little rocker was simply to little for my space.  this fits much better!  this goes to show you if you are patient and willing to look you can usually stumble across a great deal and score some really cool stuff!

an afternoon at crystal lake

in illinois (especially lake county), there are many bodies of water, some bigger than our reservoirs.  people actually get to live on lakes out there. (my dream someday).  we were lucky enough to be invited by some of those very people (rich and jill) to hang out at their lake house and to ride on all of their fun boats, jet skis and paddle boats.  here is logan watching daddy and brady take off on a jet ski. (for those of you who know me, yes i loosened up and let brady go out on a jet ski.) logan was not so lucky.

here he is coming back in with daddy.  he was super nervous at first and asked to come back in.  once in though he asked to go back out.  right before he asked daddy to go faster he said, "to infinity and beyond."  he still talks about the jet ski.

here we are our last night in illinois hanging out getting ready to go out on a boat ride.  how i would love to live somewhere like this.  as long as i could keep the boys in their life vests permanently.

thanks rich and jill!